Demonstration of a 13-keV Kr K-shell x-ray source at the National Ignition Facility

Phys Rev E Stat Nonlin Soft Matter Phys. 2013 Sep;88(3):033104. doi: 10.1103/PhysRevE.88.033104. Epub 2013 Sep 16.

Abstract

We report 3% conversion efficiency of laser energy into Kr K-shell (≈13 keV) radiation, consistent with theoretical predictions. This is ≈10× greater than previous work. The emission was produced from a 4.1-mm-diameter, 4-mm-tall gas pipe target filled with 1.2 or 1.5 atm of Kr gas. 160 of the National Ignition Facility laser beams deposited ≈700 kJ of 3ω light into the target in an ≈140 TW, 5.0-ns-duration square pulse. The Dante diagnostics measured ≈5 TW into 4π solid angle of ≥12 keV x rays for ≈4 ns, which includes both continuum emission and flux in the Kr He_{α} line at 13 keV.

Publication types

  • Research Support, U.S. Gov't, Non-P.H.S.